Recovery: A Sequel to Thicker than Water
A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only. .
Chapter 2
After dropping Cait's parents off at the airport, Dom returned in the Jet Ranger to String's cabin. Walking the pathway up to the cabin, Dom was greeted with a wave from String who was sitting on the front porch.
"Cait's parents get off all right?" Hawke asked as Dom took a seat next to him.
"Yeah, but just barely. I tell you, kid, Cait's mother is a sweet lady but I can see now where Caitlin gets her stubborn streak. Cait's dad had to practically drag her mother onto that plane!" Dom stated as he shook his head.
"Yeah, well you should have heard the speech I got," Hawke said.
"I think I have a good idea about it. She pulled me aside before they left and asked me to chaperone you two!" Dom said with a laugh. "I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do but I think if I put Cait in a glass cage her mother would be fine with that. So, where is Cait?"
"She's sleeping. I think a week with her mother wore her out more than anything. She woke up long enough to eat some lunch and take her pain medication and then fell back asleep."
"Hmmm," Dom said as he looked at the younger man next to him. He had sensed a subtle change of tone when String spoke about Cait. It was tone that Dom never heard him use with anyone else. Others probably wouldn't even notice it but Dom knew him well-enough to know when there was something different, something tender. "So tell me, does Cait's mom have anything to worry about?" he asked with a grin.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Dom?" String asked nervously as he stood and went over to lean on the porch railing and stared blankly out at the lake. .
"Oh nothing, I guess," Dom said. "It's just that since the crash it seems that you've been awfully attentive to our girl in there."
"Well she was hurt pretty badly, Dom. What did you expect me to do, just ignore her?" Hawke asked, a little frustration creeping into his voice.
"Of course not but this isnt just normal 'hope you feel better soon/I'll bring you some chicken soup' attention. Look, kid, maybe I'm sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong but it seems to me that you've been acting a little different around Cait. I get the feeling that maybe you've been thinking about a few things."
"You're right, Dom. You're sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong," String said as he turned around, his arms crossed in what seemed like a protective measure across his heart, and glared at Dom.
"Okay, I got it," Dom said with a grin as he stood to leave. "Looks like you got things handled here. I think I'll head back to the hangar. Lord knows somebody around here has to do some work and I have a feeling I won't be seeing either of you at the hangar for a while. Give Cait a kiss for me, huh? Tell her I'll be back in a couple of days for the weekend and I'll bring some supplies. In the meantime...don't do anything I wouldn't do if I was stranded up at a remote cabin all alone with a beautiful woman!"
"Dom!" Hawke said in a warning tone although Dom was sure he saw just the slighest hint of a sparkle in Hawke's eye as he left.
AWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW
As he watched the Jet Ranger lift off, Hawke's mind wandered back to what Dom had implied. Truth be told, the older man was right, he had been thinking a lot about Cait lately. More than he even liked to admit.
"Why now?" he wondered as he took a few steps off the porch and unconsciously headed out towards the lake. "Am I seeing something more than I did before or am I just feeling guilty and over-protective of her because she's hurt?" These were the questions that Hawke knew he had to answer for himself before he could figure out what to do about Caitlin.
He had known for a long time that Caitlin had feelings for him. It hadn't been too hard to figure out. Often times he would catch her watching him when she thought he didn't notice or how she looked when she saw him with another woman. He had just never really looked at her that way. "Well, that's not exactly true, Hawke," he said to himself. He had had to admit that when he awoke from the drugs that she had given him at Horn's compound to counteract the brain washing drugs, his first basic instinct was to want to kiss her. That had been raw, unadulterated emotion. That had to come from somewhere.
And then there was the "curse". Hawke had long believed that anyone he loved too much would be taken away from him...just like Gabrielle, his parents, Karen and even Sinjin to an extent. He never wanted to put Caitlin in that position or in danger. Although, in reality, he knew that that was just a lame excuse that he used when the strong emotions of really caring for someone scared him. After all, look at Dom, and even Cait, for that matter. They were both still here. It was as good an argument as any for disproving the curse theory.
All of these thoughts brought him back to his original dilemma. Was he really falling in love with Caitlin or were they just feelings that had been stirred up because of guilt and seeing her hurt? Either way, Hawke knew he had to figure it out. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Caitlin even more by encouraging feelings he wasn't even sure he had. In the meantime, he would be there as a friend to help her through her recovery. It was the least he could do.
Turning back, he headed back into the cabin. Stopping at the open doorway, he leaned against the door frame and watched Caitlin as she slept on the couch, Tet laying protectively at her feet. Unbeknownst even to him, a small smile worked it's way onto his face. "Whatever it is, it's a pretty good feeling," he couldn't but help think to himself.
TBC...
